From Asia Times Online: “As a year of subtle but significant geopolitical shifts draws to an end, China looms ever larger in a world unable to decide whether its rise is an opportunity or a threat. For better or worse, every ripple from this giant economy, which is driven by the fast-expanding needs of its 1.3 billion consumers, can now be felt across the world. The country’s frenetic construction is driving up world prices of nearly every commodity, while large-scale foreign investment is powering a flood of exports, which is bringing down global prices for manufactured goods.
Without China, even the mighty United States could not run its huge trade and budget deficits. China is the world’s second-largest buyer of US government debt as it recycles a US$124 billion trade surplus with the US. Not less significant, a series of recent multibillion-dollar acquisitions announced by Chinese companies around the world show that Beijing is aiming for a even bigger role on the global stage. China has long been the world’s strongest magnet for foreign investment and is now sitting on a nearly $540 billion pile of hard currency, which it seems anxious to spend as the dollar plunges. ”
